Our Guardian Process

Own a GoldenQuest® Mini Golden or Golden for a fraction of the price.

Female Guardian Information

If you are interested in owning one of our female guardians, read through this information to see if you are a good fit.

Females can live within an hour and a half radius from GoldenQuest® at 12643 Troy Pike Versailles KY 40383.

Breeding & Heat Cycles

• We keep record of each heat cycle, so our Guardian families are to let us know when their female is in heat. (Heat cycles occur every 6-12 months)
• When she is around 18 months old her testing will be complete, and she will be able to have puppies after that point.
• Once she is able to breed, she will come in for blood draws so we can track her progesterone levels.
• Females will need to come in one to two times a year (depending on their heat cycle) for breeding related visits. These visits will cover blood draws to breeding and last an average of 1-2 weeks on an every other day rotation. 
• We always want to help where we can, so at times, when needed and available, we also offer drop off options for your
  
• If you choose to let her stay with us during the breeding process all you need to do is make sure she has enough food for about 3 weeks. If you would like to bring her the days that we need her, this typically will be on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday rotation for 1-3 weeks.

After the Breeding Process

• When your female Guardian is done breeding, we will send you some important dates.
• First up at the 6 weeks mark we will do an ultrasound to determine if she is pregnant. At that time, you will either meet with the Guardian Director and get supplies to have the puppies at home or you will leave your Guardian mom at GoldenQuest® for her to settle in with us to have the puppies.
• If she hangs out with us, she will stay with us until the puppies are weaned.
• We start the weaning process when the puppies are 6 weeks old, this will take about a week or longer to complete.
• If you choose to have the puppies at home, here is a select set of obligations that you will have to agree to with the puppies. The puppies need to be here for important dates. It is also important to perform the enrichment curriculum that we have, and if you do these things, you have a chance to earn a stipend.
• If you choose to have the puppies at home, we will send you home with supplies and support!
• The Guardian Director and the Vet Tech will be a phone call or text away.

Puppies

• During the 7 weeks that the puppies are with the Guardian family, you are committing to bringing them for these important dates that will be given to you when the puppies are born. On these visits we will do things like photos, videos and medications for the puppies.
• Puppy Culture is an important part of what we do here with our puppies, we will help you learn how help make them the best puppies possible
• Females are released from the Guardian program when she has 3 successful litters (meaning 2 or more puppies), if a full Golden Retriever, 4 successful litters.

Male Guardian Information

If you are interested in a male Guardian dog, read below to see if you may be a good fit for the program.

Male Guardians can live up to 1 hour from GoldenQuest® at 12643 Troy Pike Versailles KY 40383.

Breeding

• Males are able to breed as early as 6 months although we typically do not start breeding them until after a year.
• We give as much of a heads up as possible for the males, so y'all know when he'll be needed for breeding as soon as possible.
• When the dogs breed there is a day in between breedings, the number of times they breed will be determined by the females breeding window.
• You have the option of leaving him with us for the duration of breeding or you can bring him back and forth.

After Breeding

• The males are released from the Guardian program when an offspring is old enough to breed and has finished their year 2 genetic testing.
• There is no limit to the amount of litters or times that a male can breed between the age of 1 year old to 5 years old. We do however bear in mind the frequency and try to be as considerate as we can while still meeting the breeding needs.